Afterwards
by jaycee922
Summary: This story is set after the deaths of Klaus and Elijah and is initially Haylijah centric but will also feature klaus and Camille and other members of the Lebonair and Mikaelson extended family.


**Afterwards Chapter 1.**

Elijah woke suddenly.

He kept his eyes closed to scan his surroundings using his other senses. His face was cushioned upon a bed of leaves and he could smell the slightly sweet rotting aroma from under his head. It wasn't unpleasant. He couldn't hear another heart beat or breaths that signified the proximity of another being. He sat up quickly and opened his eyes. It was night time, but he could see clearly through the trees of a vast woodland.

He was still vampire then!

He quickly stood up and backed into the nearest out cropping of trees. Old habits die hard! Had he a broadsword in his hand he would have adopted a defensive stance.

He tried to think of his last memory. His mind, his memories they were sporadic, like a spluttering engine. He could remember lights and smells, sparking, ashes rising into the night, but not the acrid smell of cooking flesh, mostly the sharp smell of disintegration. Similar to the smell his mother and Dahlia's death had left behind, he remembered that. Was that then his fate? He knew he was vampire and that his name was Elijah, Elijah Mikaelson.

His mind trod a similar track, this had happened to him before, those events were just on the edge of his consciousness.

He clearly recalled snatches or words and fragments, spoken in emotional tones, laced with sorrow and the salty tang of tears.

'please let's not…'

'I agree let's not….'

'effective….shorter form'

'…by your side'

'peace…darkness,'

'we face it together,'

'love…..so grateful,'

'it's been a glorious ride Niklaus, and my greatest honour.'

'We face it together.'

He had watched blue grey eyes as they glazed over. He knew those other eyes had mirrored his own, the world had become dim around the edges at first. He had raised his eyes briefly upwards to watch the ash and sparks as they flew into the inky night sky aided by the breezy night. He felt peaceful and serene.

He had thought: 'Goodbye Elijah Mikaelson'.

Then, following a rush of light, he had woken up here in this wood at night.

He couldn't see any ashes nor sparks anymore, and the night was considerably warmer than it had been, he was warm now, wearing a great outer coat. The air smelled differently too, of trees and woods and rotted leaf mulch and water, as opposed to the sweet and smoky smells of a city. He could taste water in the air and hear the faint noises of frogs and small wildlife.

Then he smelled it, smoke. More specifically burning woodsmoke a fire smoldering and nearly out. He turned his body abruptly and moved with supernatural speed through the wood towards the fire.

He was forgetting something, it was nagging in the back of his mind. What had he said to that other man, when he had watched the light fade from his eyes. Niklaus. Yes, that was the name, his brother. His younger brother in blood, and time who had seen, with him, the passage of a millenium. He had assured his brother that they would be together, yet they weren't.

Had he died? He wasn't certain if he had or if this was some kind of witchcraft. Names he could only just recall floated through his mind, Freya and Davina. He wasn't sure yet of their connection to him, but he knew they must be, else why would he recall names with such precision. He wasn't even sure that this had the right smell for witchcraft, this wooded place; and, where was Niklaus? He didn't want to call out in case things weren't as they seemed.

Suddenly, behind him, he heard the crunch of a boot and a voice rich and deep.

'Well, well, well, if it ain't Elijah Mikaelson,'

Elijah turned and looked into the deep dark eyes of a man of similar height with long shaggy hair, wearing a lopsided grin. Jackson, yes Jackson that was his name. Elijah knew he should dislike him for some reason, but he couldn't remember what that was just now, and so he just smiled back.

'I'm guessin' that your memories haven't returned fully yet. That being the case, I won't take you to see my wife just yet.' Jackson emphasized the wife bit. Elijah immediately knew that was why he didn't like him and touched the corner of his mouth thoughtfully.

'But' he continued, 'I know that she's been waitin' for you, knew that when I married her, she sure as hell ain't changed her mind in all the time between then and now. Damned woman. '

'So' Jackson turned and walked towards the fire smell 'follow me Elijah, lets get this over with.'

Elijah turned and followed the man, he felt he could trust him and was starting to remember some of the events that included this man, he just wasn't totally sure of their order yet.

Receiving a heart in a box at the Abattoir and his absolute relief at smelling that it was Jackson's heart once the box had been opened.

Running with the man in his arms at vampire speed with the explosion chasing at his heels all the way out of the warehouse. Then coming back to the Abattoir with the man and a very relieved Hayley, who had looked Elijah over first before asking Jackson how he was. He had felt her eyes appraise his filthy burnt suit, from top to toe.

He also remembered Hayley's whispered words about her betrothal to this man, and Elijah's affront at Hayley's lack of choice. On impulse, he had backed her towards the nearest wall to kiss her and declare that she would always have a choice. Christ, he remembered that very clearly, as well as the taste of her lips.

He knew who Jackson was talking about now, his wife Hayley, the woman that he, Elijah Mikaelson had loved on sight and still loved with all his heart.

The woman in question, Hayley was sitting round the campfire watching the embers die. In this place and with these people she was Andrea Lebonair. Sometimes she liked to be Andrea and watch Jackson, her parents and Mary laugh and exchange stories round the fire. They all liked to gather around the campfire in the clearing in front of the bayou.

Mists rolled in off of the water and she could see the land and woods on the other side. There had been a disturbance a short while ago. Nothing major just a shifting of things, something that she hadn't felt before, it had felt to her a bit like she had suddenly forgotten to do something, like turning a light off or leaving a kettle boiling. Jackson had said that the shifting was someone or more than one someone passing over to their reality. Not the otherside anymore, but another reality that she had found out she could shape sometimes. A reality where there was peace and forgiveness and love.

Not everyone on this side was with Hayley and her family. She had seen Mikael and Esther from a distance with Ansel. She had avoided them. She wasn't interested in making anything right with them. But, the longer that she had been in this place she had had time to reflect upon her life and the things she had done, and the things that had been done to her, she had forgiven so much and in doing so had also forgiven Mikael and Esther. She wasn't however, ready to spend time with them just yet.

Hayley felt that she was at peace though, and could look at her daughter and see her if she wanted to but only when she visited the scrying caves.

She could still see the living in swirling pools of water, and if she concentrated hard enough she could be with them for a very short while. The only frustration was that she couldn't communicate and if they saw her then she was transported immediately back to the caves.

She had also visited the caves to see Elijah and Klaus. She had seen their lives since she had left them and had wept unconsolably as she witnessed Elijah retrieving his memories. She had wanted to scream with him at the pain she could feel, until the scrying pool had gone black and green and greys had once again washed across its liquid surface. She hadn't gone there again, nor had she told Jackson that she had visited. It was Mary and Eve who had walked over to a distant and saddened Hayley, they had put their arms round her and Eve had murmured 'it's the vampire ain't it?'. Hayley had only been able to nod sadly as the tears rolled down her cheeks. 'He wants to be here with you, doesn't he,' Eve had stated.

That was an obvious truth, a truth she wished for, yet didn't want with all her heart.

Now she could feel a disturbance. It could only mean that someone she knew was going to pass over into this world. She hoped it might be Elijah, she knew that if he did find his way to her, he would maybe stay a while, but he would also have to find Klaus whether that be in the scrying pool or in spirit. She was not sure how this worked, nor how people got to this reality or even if everyone got to this reality. No one here seemed to be able to tell her either and they certainly did not want to leave especially those that had been present during the collapse of the otherside.

Hayley could hear that Jackson was walking through the woods and then stopped and started to speak to someone, they were too far away for her to hear the conversation properly. She strained her hearing and sent out her supernatural senses to try to determine who the new person was. Likely they would be in shock depending on the means of their death, as she had been totally numb for some days after her death, this would mean that they would have only partial memories of what had happened.

She didn't know why, but she felt such astonishing sadness for the end of this life, for any lives really but somehow this seemed to deeply affect her.

Her hearing caught the end of a conversation, it wasn't so much the words that she could hear as the timbre of the voice and the cadence of speech.

Suddenly she was standing up, her feet running towards Jackson and the other person. Long before she could see them she started to smell cedar and sandalwood and an expensive waft of cologne. She knew that smell, yes, she knew that smell very well and knew exactly who smelt like that too. She could still remember being wrapped up in that smell, and her feelings of utter peace and tranquility.

From a distance Hayley saw a man in a knee length outer coat and a dark suit with the moonlight catching the metal of a pocket watch. He always liked to carry that watch in the breast pocket of his perfectly tailored waistcoat. Klaus had given it to him, it was an antique. Much like him, at that thought Hayley smiled.

Hayley picked up speed and started to run towards Elijah and Jackson. Seeing them both together walking and quietly talking made her unexpectedly reticent. She stopped and walked up to the pair and greeted Jackson and then looked into a pair of coffee coloured eyes, eyes that had haunted her dreams, those same eyes were shimmering with unshed tears. His face, oh god he looked at her with recognition and then his face crumpled and he fell to his knees hands out, reaching towards her. Oh god, she had to look away and cover the face with the back of her shaking hand.

Then Elijah had placed his hands on his knees, sighed deeply with his head hung on his chest. He sat up on his haunches, and looked her squarely in the eye then, no shirking from this task then.

'Forgive me, please forgive me,' Elijah had whispered.

Two single tears then began a steady roll down his cheeks as he silently implored her to forgive him.

Jackson looked from Hayley to Elijah and back again and excused himself walking back towards the campfire and the bayou clearing. He nodded to Hayley when he passed her and muttered that he knew that both she and Elijah had an awful lot to talk about.

Jackson wasn't critical of her and had told her when she had first passed over that he had long ago forgiven her for loving Elijah Mikaelson, after all you can't help whom you love, can you. Whilst that comment had made Hayley sad and full of regret, she also knew that he was right. Elijah had been the love of her life. She had loved him on sight and had never ever stopped.

Hayley looked at the man on his knees who was silently looking at her one hand braced on the forest floor and the other across the lower part of his face. He looked at once unutterably sad and full of regret. Hayley knelt-down with him onto the forest floor and pulled his hand away from his face, he didn't resist. He just slowly raised his head and whispered 'forgive me' again so quietly that she had to strain to hear it.

Just as slowly Hayley pulled Elijah into her arms. It felt good to be surrounded by his body, his smell again. She closed her eyes and silently wept with him and for him.

She knew, that without being told that he needed to find his brother in this place, as Klaus as well as she were the other parts of his ancient being and they would always be tethered together.

There was no Elijah without Klaus and Hayley also was coming to realise that she was also not complete without them either.

'Now,' she said firmly, 'what about that dance'.

Elijah Mikalson, stood, turned away from her, held out his hand palm up and looked back into her face. Hayley, eyes shining with love and unsaid things placed her hand palm down into his and whirled through his arm clasping his shoulder.

Both of them smiled at each other and moved together in the moonlight as far off music drifted to the wooded glade through the trees.


End file.
